


Forest

by peacefulboo



Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: Car Accidents, Domestic dynamics, F/M, Future Fic, No death or permanent injury, merging of lives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-10-05 09:57:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17322842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peacefulboo/pseuds/peacefulboo
Summary: New Year's Day 2020Twenty plus years of history means twenty plus years of living life's joys together in one way or another. It also means twenty years of baggage to work through. When Tessa and Scott decide to give a deeper relationship an honest go, they hit a bump in the road when Tessa declines an invitation to a New Year's Day party in Ilderton.





	Forest

**Author's Note:**

> In...August? I think it was August, I asked C what she wanted to read in that moment. We've been working on this since. Thanks to D for being our fearless beta on this one. I did not make it easy on you one bit. ;) 
> 
> We hope you enjoy this! Let us know. And happy 2019.

New Year's Day - 2020

Tessa sighs when the door clicks shut behind Scott. He’s upset and she gets it, but she also doesn’t. They have been invited to a New Years Day party that his buddies are throwing. It’s a big one, with all the wives and girlfriends and kids and food and cards, and the requisite bowl game playing on the TV. Since she and Scott started dating five months ago, Tessa has only hung out with Scott and his friends once. It was an okay night but Scott had been weirdly focused on her comfort, and frankly seemed intensely uncomfortable and out of sorts the whole party, so tonight, Tessa beggs off, citing a need to get her introvert on after the non-stop holiday gatherings, and insisting that he’ll have more fun without her. 

The perplexed and slightly hurt look he has on his face when he kisses her cheek in acquiescence and walks out the door gives Tessa pause, because it’s like he actually _wants_ her to go with him, which isn’t what she’d been expecting. She only takes a minute to stare at the closed door before changing her mind, grabbing her shoes and a proper jacket and getting into her own car to follow him. 

She’s maybe two minutes behind him and figures having her own car in which she can bolt from the party at any time, will be the compromise they need to get through the evening. As she drives, she actively talks herself out of assuming the evening is going to be difficult at all. These are Scott’s friends and she loves Scott. Plus some of the kids are cute and the wives she’s met over the last few years seem sweet and kind and it really will be a fun night. It will. 

Tessa’s a little distracted on the drive up through London and out to Dave and Nan’s house southwest of Ilderton, but just as she’s turning off the main road and onto the smaller one that will lead to her destination, she sees the tail end of a vehicle sticking out of a small ditch on the side of the road, the top crumpled like it had flipped and managed to land right side up again. She pulls over a few feet ahead of the wreck, and parks as she flips her hazards on, already grabbing her phone and calling 911. 

She’s running to the vehicle before she’s really registered the type of car or the skate shop decal in rear the window. She briefly notes the smell of gasoline and burnt rubber, and she can hear the dispatcher on the phone asking her for details but all she can do is reach through the shattered window, calling Scott’s name, hoping he’s awake. 

“Scott,” Tessa calls, touching his slightly bloodied face. “He’s bleeding from his head. I have to get him out,” she mutters. She faintly hears the lady on the phone instructing her not to move him. 

“T?” Scott mutters as he tries to focus on her. 

“Good. You’re awake,” she tells him and then says into the phone, “It’s on fire. I have to get him out.”

“You weren’t in the car,” Scott moans out, visibly confused.

“No. I’m here now though. You’re gonna be fine.”

“Don’t cry, baby.”

Tessa lets out a little half laugh, half sob at this and shakes her head, “I don’t cry, Scott,” she jokes in a half-hearted attempt at levity as she tries to open the door with one hand while doing her best to brush the blood away from his eyes. She can’t get the door open from the outside and the broken glass of what used to be the window is jagged enough that she’ll slice through her arm if she tries to reach down to get the door open. She decides to leave it for now, when she looks up to see small flames licking around the hood. 

“It’s on fire,” she repeats. 

“Ma’am, if there’s a fire I need to advise you to move away from the vehicle. The Fire Department is on it’s way,” says the calm voice of the dispatcher, which she completely ignores.

“Fuck,” she breathes out. “Scott, can you reach the door handle?” 

“The what?” his eyes are closing and that’s the last thing she needs right now.

“I need you to open the door,” she tells him, voice firm and commanding. 

“Lemme try,” he slurs out. It takes some patting around but he finds the handle and manages to pry it open. Tessa is relieved to see that the door pops open with little more than a small groan. 

“Perfect. I’m gonna try to get your seatbelt off okay? We need to get away from the car if we can.” Tessa reaches in and tries to get the seat belt to release with no luck. She tries a few times, resorting to yanking it hard and then groans in frustration when she realizes it’s stuck. 

“You gotta go, T,” Scott slurs out. “There’s smoke, Tess. You gotta go.”

“No. Scott. Not until I get you out. You have one of those seatbelt cutters like you got me for my car, right?” Tessa asks. Scott has her car decked out with every bit of emergency equipment that either of his brothers or their friends have recommended over the years. Surely he’s done the same for himself, too. 

“Is it in the glove box or the center console?” she asks, popping the center console open, dismayed that all she finds is a box of tissue, some Carmex, and a frozen bottle of water. 

“Glove,” he chokes out as he coughs and then groans against the pain. “You have to go,” he pleads again. She can tell that his eyes are tearing up and she can hear how distressed he is but she’s not going to leave him like this. 

Except she is. Her heart sinks as she looks over at the passenger side and sees that the passenger door is crumpled in and wedged so it’s partially blocking the glove box. She snakes her body around Scott’s anyway and reaches over to try and pry the box open to see if she’s wrong. She’s not. She also notes that Scott’s airbag didn’t deploy but puts that information aside as she tugs once more at the latch on the glove box. It doesn’t budge and she can feel the heat from the fire seeping through through from the engine compartment. 

She has to get him out.

“I have mine in my car. It’s five seconds away. I’ll be right back,” she tells him, knowing that right now it’s probably not all that reassuring to him. Tessa squeezes his hand and without another thought scoots back out of the car, but she’s moving too quickly, and promptly trips and falls back on the loose glass and gravel, landing roughly on the scattered debris. She pushes up from the ground, registering the slight sting of her hand as she runs up the incline to her car. It takes her a second to find her key fob so she can get the passenger door open but once she’s in she easily finds the seatbelt cutter in her own glove box (mentally reminding herself to move it to the center console when this is all said and done) before rushing back to Scott’s crumpled vehicle. 

She’s there and back in under twenty seconds but she can see that the flames have definitely grown. 

“Shit, shit, shit,” she bites out as she reaches in to cut the lap strap. “This is probably gonna hurt, Scott, but I’ve got you.” As soon as the strap is cut, she wraps her arms around him and pulls him out of the car. 

Tessa is a very strong woman, but Scott is too out of it to help her at all. She does her best to ignore his pained whimpers as she pulls him out of the car, hoping against hope that she isn’t doing any more damage than the wreck itself has already done. She lands on her back and side, with Scott on top of her and it knocks the wind out of her for a moment, but she catches the flames out of the corner of her eye again and immediately starts tugging Scott up the embankment and onto the road, slowly but steadily, ignoring the way the rocks and sticks and glass and gravel dig into her thighs, back, and elbows. 

And then, just like that, they’ve made it up and onto the level ground of the pavement and to her car. She can see from her vantage point that the flames have licked their way into the cab of his car and she sucks in a breath of relief when she hears sirens in the distance. 

The firetruck reaches them first, with most of its crew immediately getting to work on putting out the fire with the truck’s reserve water. 

“Ma’am,” a deep voice calls out. “Do you know if there are any other people down there?”

Tessa looks up from where she’s seated with Scott’s head cradled in her lap, her fingers brushing through his bloodied hair and just now realizing she probably should have laid him flat. 

“No. It was just him.”

The paramedic radios to his team letting them know the area is likely clear and then he sets to work on Scott, only pausing for a second to look at Scott’s face and then up at Tessa’s and back again. 

“Chuck’s brother, right?” he says as he and his partner set to putting Scott in the neck brace and backboard with efficient movements. 

“Chuck?”

“Moir,” the other man answers. “This is Scott Moir, right?”

“Yes,” Tessa answers, a little bewildered.

An ambulance has arrived and there are more EMS workers gathering around as Tessa sits cross-legged at Scott’s head, clenching her hands into fists to keep herself from reaching out so she can pull him to her. His eyes are open but glassy as hell and she can see his jaw is clenched in pain and his breathing is labored. 

“Tess?” she hears from somewhere in front of her. She looks up to see Charlie in his full firefighting uniform, his helmet under his arm and a deliberately neutral look on his face. Chuck. The paramedic meant Charlie.

She can feel herself crumple a little in the presence of Charlie’s familiar steady calm and she cycles through a million things she should be telling him in this moment. 

“I had to move him,” is what actually comes out of her mouth. She can hear the justification in her voice and almost cringes, but it’s true. She saw how big the fire had become and has to swallow down the bile that starts to come up at the memory. 

“You did good, kid,” he says as he crouches down next to her. “You did very good,” he says again as he pulls her into his side.

Tessa doesn’t know whether to believe him but it doesn’t matter much. Most of the paramedics and EMTs continue to check over Scott but one of them approaches Tessa and asks, “Ma’am. Is that your blood?”

Tessa looks up at the woman addressing her and shakes her head, “Um...I don’t think so?” Tessa shakes her head and looks down at her hands, the seat belt cutter still clutched in it. 

Some of it is her blood, though. She’s managed to cut her forearm and hands on the glass and jagged metal, and she can tell at least one is a much deeper cut than she’d thought. There’s also some road rash along her torso and on her thighs from where she scraped herself along the asphalt in her final pull while dragging Scott up and onto the road. 

“I’m okay,” she says when she rips her eyes away from her forearm where the deepest cut is still bleeding, and looks back at Scott

“Tessa,” Charlie chides her before reaching over and taking the seat belt cutter from her hand. 

“I don’t want to leave him yet,” she explains. 

“I can check you here and then in the rig once we put him in,” the EMT answers, already switching on her head lamp and examining the deepest of the visible cuts. 

“Okay,” Tessa replies before looking back at Scott. She answers the woman’s questions: no she wasn’t in the wreck, she got the cuts and scrapes in the course of getting Scott out of the car. No she didn’t hit her head. No it doesn’t hurt anywhere else. She hasn’t had anything to eat or drink in the last hour or so, etc.

A few minutes later the crew is ready to move Scott from the ground to the gurney and into the ambulance. Tessa inhales shakily and looks up at Charlie saying, “You’re going with him, right? He won’t be alone?”

“No, no. You’ll go with Scott and Sami here will keep looking at your arm. I’ll meet you at the hospital. I’ll call my parents, too,” he assures her with a gentle hug. 

“But you should go with him. You’re his brother,” she tells him. “Plus I need to drive my car so it’s not just left here.”

“There is no way you’re driving right now, Tutu,” Charlie says with a bit of a laugh. “You’re Scott’s partner and his legal proxy anyway. Gimme your keys and I’ll make sure the car makes it to the hospital and then your house.”

Tess takes a second to gather her wits and nods. Charlie’s right. “Okay,” she replies, standing now so she can follow the gurney and Sami into the ambulance. Charlie lifts her up into the rig and she winces as his hand brushes her side. He quickly hands her off but not before she gives him a pained but teasing smile and says, “You’re still pretty good at that.”

Charlie rolls his eyes but gives her a tight smile in return before putting his hand out. “Keys, Tess.” 

Tessa reaches into her jacket pocket and hands him her keys. 

“You have clothes in there that I can bring in for you?” Charlie asks, “Or anything else I should grab when I get to the hospital?”

“Oh. Yes. If you could bring in the duffle bag that’s in the trunk, it has clothes for both of us,” she answers. “I think there might be shoes in the trunk or maybe behind the front seats. And my purse is in the passenger seat.”

“You got it,” Charlie says with a nod. 

“Tess,” she hears Scott say so she turns her attention back to him. 

“Yeah?” she asks. She wants to grab his hand but the arm closest to her is currently being fit with an IV so she does her best to make sure he can hear her. 

“What happened. You weren’t with me. Why are you here?” he asks. He sounds so out of it and she answered these questions while they were waiting for fire and rescue, but she answers him again. 

“I decided to come after you left. Found you on the side of the road. We’re gonna be at the hospital in no time.” In truth they haven’t left the road side yet. 

She watches from inside the rig as the last of the wreck is assessed by the firefighters for any risk of flare ups while Sami continues to dab and examine the cuts on her hand and arm. It’s maybe another minute or two before the paramedic she didn’t catch the name of finishes hooking Scott up to all of the monitors and wiring needed for the short drive to the hospital and then signals to the driver they are ready to head out. 

The doors close on the back of ambulance and the last thing Tessa notices from the wreck is Charlie making his way to her car along the side of the road. She reaches over with the hand not being held hostage by gauze and medical tape to give Scott’s bicep a brief squeeze, letting him know she is still there. 

His eyes squint shut against the bright lights of the vehicle and he appears to be drifting in and out of sleep but she notices his fingers squeezing on his clenched fist in response. 

They arrive to the hospital without incident and are immediately lead into a private evaluation station with the curtains drawn around them. She is grateful it appears to be a relatively quiet time in the emergency room and no one notices two more car wreck victims being brought in. 

“Okay, I need you to talk to one of the doctors here about these cuts because they’re going to want you on antibiotics but for now, you should be good to go.” 

Tessa nods absently as Sami prepares to head out, her focus trained solely on the paramedic relaying Scott’s injuries and status to the doctor that initially greeted them when they entered the hospital. 

 

The nameless paramedic, who now has a name, Josh, and Sami exit the curtained off exam room and Tessa reaches out from her position standing next to Scott’s bed to squeeze his hand. His responding hold is tight enough she knows he’s awake but his eyes remain shut against the harsh hospital lighting. 

Tessa can hear the doctor speaking to a nurse who has joined them in the room and orders a CT scan before turning her attention to Tessa. “Hi, I’m Dr. Briggs. I’m going to take a look and see what we’ve got going on here. If you can step back a bit, I think that might help this to go quicker and then we’ll bring in a chair so you can sit with him.” She glances at Tessa’s bandaged hand and arm, “I know Sami mentioned seeing a doctor but we should be able to get that squared away without you needing to go anywhere, if you’d prefer?”

Tessa is nodding before Dr. Briggs has finished speaking, “That’s fine. I would prefer that. Thank you.” She turns her attention back to Scott, squeezing his hand reassuringly and leaning over closer to his face, “Scott, I’m going to move back but I’m still here, okay?” 

He squeezes her hand tightly and through slightly clenched teeth he asks, “Tess? Are you okay?”

She nods even though his eyes are closed, “Yes, I’m okay. The doctor needs to look at you and see what’s next. I’m still here though.” 

Scott lets out an affirmative groan and loosens his grip on her hand. Tessa lets go and steps back away from the bed as Dr. Briggs introduces herself to Scott, asking him preliminary questions she recalls the paramedics asking him on the roadside. His answers are short and Tessa can hear the leashed pain in his voice when he is able to respond. 

It is while the doctor pokes and prods Scott that Joe and Alma are lead into the curtained area by a nurse. Tessa glances over when they enter and as soon as she sees who it is, is moving before she realizes it. Joe wraps her in a hug while Alma gives her arm a squeeze and walks closer to the doctor and Scott. After a few moments Joe releases her and she sees him notice how she must look, random blood stains with a bandaged hand and rushes to reassure him.

“I’m okay. This is just from getting him out of the wreck. I wasn’t in the car.”

His eyes soften a bit at the edges before giving her shoulders a squeeze, “We know. Charlie told us it was just Scott in the car but still. I’m glad you’re okay.” 

Tessa finds herself between Joe and Alma near Scott’s bedside and absently notes all the things she’s done in the last hour without really thinking but quickly engages with the conversation as Dr. Briggs answers Alma’s question about the severity of Scott’s injuries. 

“Initial assessment indicates he likely doesn’t have any spinal injuries but he definitely has at least two broken ribs. We’re going to run some tests to be sure before we remove the neck brace so it’ll probably be a few hours before we know everything.” Alma holds Tessa’s hand while she asks some follow-up questions. 

“Will he be admitted then?” 

Dr. Briggs glances at Tessa before responding to Alma’s initial question about long-term concerns, “It’s a car accident so until all the tests are back we don’t want to give absolutes but if his injuries are what we expect, he should be fine in a month or two. As for being admitted, we are definitely going to want to keep him overnight but barring any complications, he’ll be discharged in the morning.” 

“We can stay with him, right?” Tessa’s eyes remain focused on Scott. He appears to have drifted off while they’ve been speaking and his face has relaxed from the pained grimace he’d been sporting since they put the neck brace on. 

“Of course. Once he’s admitted, he’ll have a room and you should be able to stay with him overnight.” A nurse joins them in the room and speaks briefly with Dr. Briggs. 

Tessa moves over to Scott’s side and finds herself reaching for his hand, the instinctual squeeze in response reassures her but after, his hand remains relaxed in her grip. 

“Hey Tess, they are going to take him for a CT scan. Do you want to go with him?” Alma indicates to the orderly who is now also in the small space with the two nurses and Dr. Briggs.

Everyone is looking at her but before she can respond Charlie pokes his head into the area through the curtain. “I have your stuff, Tess. Why don’t you change and check your phone while someone else goes with him?”

She doesn’t want to leave him, but an encouraging nod from Alma and the feel of her shirt sticking to her with drying blood sways her. “Okay. If you guys don’t mind going with him? I just don’t think he should be alone if he wakes up.”

Charlie nods and motions her towards him. “Promise. This isn’t the first time one of us has had a trip to the ER. You know this is old hat for the Moirs.” 

Tessa chuckles in spite of her weariness at his statement. Too many memories of summers playing backyard games remind her how true this is. 

Joe moves up to Scott’s bed, “I’ll head up with him, unless they’ve moved X-Ray, and Alma can square away his admittance paperwork. Why don’t you go with Charlie, get changed and then go from there?” 

Tessa nods gratefully when the plan is offered. “Sounds good.” 

It’s a brief walk to the nearest washroom but in that short span of time she realizes her phone has been vibrating in her coat pocket non-stop. When she struggles to fit her bandaged hand into the pocket Charlie quickly reaches over and fetches it for her. It’s only when he places it in her non-injured hand that it occurs to her she could have gotten it herself with the other hand. A few blood smudges mar the screen but she can clearly see the missed calls from Jordan and a few numbers not in her contacts. Probably one of Jordan’s friends trying from a different phone while Jordan was sending texts. 

When they arrive at the washroom, she’s still debating if she should call back now or wait until everything has settled down. Charlie helps her make the decision by handing off the bag with fresh clothes, including her spare pair of runners and takes the phone from her hand. “I’ll call Jordan. You just get cleaned up and then we’ll get everything squared away, okay?” She blankly tracks the movement of the phone from her hand to his and it’s only when he gives her shoulder a brief squeeze that she starts.

“Right, okay. Yeah. That sounds good.” She halfway through the door to the washroom before she turns back to Charlie, “Oh, and tell her I’ll call her later.”

Charlie smiles reassuringly, already with her phone held to his ear, “Of course. And hey, there’s a plastic bag in there from the nurses station for your dirty clothes. We’ll see if anything can be salvaged later so don’t worry about them.” Tessa glances down into the duffle and can clearly see some bags that match the one next to Scott’s bedside with his shoes and wallet. The door to the washroom closes as she hears Charlie responding on the phone, “No Jordan, it’s Charlie. And she’s fine. She’s chang-” 

Once in the washroom, the quiet white noise of the hospital’s ventilation is the only thing Tessa can hear and it’s then she realizes how loud the last hour and a half has been. She walks over to the mirror and takes stock of what she sees, which is mostly grime and random smatterings of blood. The first thing she ditches is her coat, which in hindsight she is very grateful to have grabbed on the way out the door. The Adidas track jacket underneath would have done nothing against the winter weather on the side of the road and the cuts in the wool of the coat indicate it probably saved her from some more serious incidental injuries than she’s currently sporting. 

A brief glance at Tessa’s hand tells her the bandage is holding up fine and the sting is manageable so she moves on to attempting to unbutton her jeans and that’s when she realizes she may have an issue. When the EMT bandaged her hand, she had to wrap her thumb and no matter how many times she tries, Tessa cannot get the traction needed to unbutton the button to her fly. After a minute of frustration she sighs and walks back over to the door. 

Charlie is waiting on the other side, still on the phone but pauses when he sees her, “That was quick.” Tessa glances briefly down the hall then motions him closer, “Hang on.” He pulls the phone down and takes stock of her appearance, “What’s up, kid?”

Motioning to her injured hand, she’s shrugs a little helplessly. “I can’t unbutton my pants.” Charlie laughs lightly and eyes her, “Need some help?” She nods and lifts her shirt a little out of the way when he reaches out after wedging the phone between his ear and shoulder, “Yeah, sorry about that Jordan. She can’t unbutton her pants. Hang on.” 

A quick maneuver and the button is freed. Tessa musters a small smile, “Thanks.”

Charlie returns the smile and then laughs before explaining, “Jordan says this doesn’t mean you get to go back to living in leggings in public.”

Rolling her eyes, Tessa disappears back into the washroom and makes quick work of changing, only briefly noting some pain when switching to the leggings she knows Jordan was thinking of when she made her comment and tossing her ruined clothes into the plastic bags. 

An over preparedness borne from years of globetrotting means there is a small toiletries bag tucked into the duffle with face cleanser and wet wipes and after quickly wiping the grime and visible blood away, she ducks back out into the hallway where Charlie is no longer on the phone and waiting patiently. When he reaches out with her phone extended, she takes it and tucks it back into an easily accessible coat pocket. “Do I need to call her back now or is she okay?”

Charlie shakes his head as he takes the duffle from her, “Nope, Jordan’s good. She does expect a call as soon as you get home and have a cup of tea in front of you but otherwise I am pretty sure she believed me when I told her the twelfth time that you weren’t in the car.” Tessa nods and begins to head in the general direction of Admissions with Charlie falling into step next to her. “You okay? We can hit up the cafeteria if you want something. I don’t think Scott will be back for a little bit.” 

She can sense he’s handling her but doesn’t mind. Right now she could use some big brother looking out, “If it’s okay, I’d rather find out what room he’s going to be in tonight so I can sit down. I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to get up again for a few hours once I stop moving.” The adrenaline is waning and she’s fairly sure she might be in a little bit of shock but decides against mentioning it. Charlie gives a tight smile and angles her back down the hall toward the emergency department and it is a reflection on how exhausted she is that it takes her a minute to realize they should be heading to a different floor if Scott is being admitted. 

“Charlie?”

He shrugs a little and guides her over to the check-in station without replying to her and instead addresses the man behind the computer at the desk. “I think there should be an exam room available now, Virtue is the last name.” The man doesn’t glance up as he refers to the likely short list in front of him given the quick glance Tessa takes around the waiting area, finding only two people seated in the far corner. He does look up once he’s done and nods reassuringly, “Yep, bay 3. Do you need help finding it, Charlie?” 

Charlie shakes his head and grins good naturedly, “Naw, I think I can remember how to count tonight, Sasha.” He then proceeds to gently tug Tessa over to the open curtained area and after having her sit on the bed, pulls the curtains closed to passerbys. She’s knows she is glaring when he turns back around and notes the resigned shift in his body language. He ignores her for a moment to pull the backless stool over and plops down in front of her, tapping her knee. 

“Nope. No stink eye, Tess. Mom texted while you were changing to remind me the doctor hadn’t cleared you before we left.” Tessa opens her mouth to argue but he continues before she can say anything, “They almost sent a nurse to chase us down but because I was with you they let it wait until after you cleaned up a bit.” He says the last part with slightly raised eyebrows and a clear expression of ‘be grateful you didn’t have that happen’ that makes her rethink the argument she was preparing. Instead she sighs defeatedly and looks down at her hand. 

“I know. It’ll be quick though, right?”

The squeeze at her knee has her looking up, “As quick as they can make it and my experience says it’ll be pretty straightforward. They’re going to change your dressing through. And might give you a shot.” He lightly pokes her upper arm for emphasis and she bats his hand away with a laugh right as the curtain is pulled back to reveal Dr. Briggs and another nurse. The doctor gives a quick smile to the two of them before moving over to the bed, causing Charlie to stand up and move back to give them space. 

“I’m glad we didn’t have to send out a search party to find you, Ms. Virtue.” 

Tessa grimaces and shrugs ruefully, “Sorry, I forgot about that extra check. And Tess is fine, Dr. Briggs.” The doctor nods and is thankfully as efficient as Charlie indicated. There is some pain with the redressing of her hand but the replacement bandage is decidedly more manageable and as promised a shot is given accompanied by a prescription for antibiotics that Charlie snags before Tessa can put it in her pocket.

“I’ll get it.” 

The doctor believes whatever mild shock she may be experiencing is already improving and hands Charlie an extra hospital blanket to wrap her in before she sits down again. “All your vitals are strong and you said you feel better than you did even ten minutes ago so I’m going to prescribe rest and being careful when transitioning to standing over the next few hours, if you can promise me that, I will let you go under the care of your brother.” 

Tessa nods and there’s no need to clarify who Charlie is because right now he’s leaning heavily into the ‘big brother’ vibe. Since she is too tired to rally for a verbal response Charlie saves her by thanking Dr. Briggs and promising to bring her back if she gets any worse. The two of them are up and walking down the hallway to the elevators a few minutes later. 

“I think we need to head to pharmacy or I won’t have the energy to grab the antibiotics until next Tuesday.” Tessa sighs tiredly as they wait for the doors to open. 

He nods and wraps an arm affectionately across her shoulders. “For sure, but let’s go find mom. She texted and said your mom found her at the nurses station so they’ll be waiting there for his room number. Once you’re with them, I’ll head down and get your script squared away.” She leans gratefully into him as they enter the elevator and head up to the floor Alma indicated. 

Rounding the corner, Tessa sees Kate’s fair hair before anything else registers and is moving rapidly in her direction while Charlie falls back a bit. The hug her mother wraps her in eases a lot of the tension she’s been carrying and if someone were ask later what happens in the next few hours she would only be able to say that the chair she napped in was incredibly uncomfortable. 

********************

Eighteen hours later, after finally getting cleared to go home and what seems like an entire ream of paper’s worth of aftercare instructions for his various injuries, Scott is settled and resting downstairs on the couch, so Tessa heads up to their bathroom to shower and change in hopes that she’ll be blessed with more sleep as well. 

She hisses when she has to peel her leggings away from her left thigh. She probably should have gotten that wound checked out as well, but what she had assumed was just a big scrape while at the hospital now appears to have small bits of glass in it. She showers quickly, doing a rush job of washing and conditioning her hair as she shudders at the sting of the hot water on the small cuts all over her body and the long patch of road rash on her right flank. She dries off as gently but thoroughly as possible, cringing at the streaks of blood left on her towel. Once dry she gingerly pulls on a pair of boy shorts and a cropped sweatshirt before gathering up some first aid supplies, including tweezers and triple antibiotic ointment, and heading down stairs. 

She checks to make sure Scott is still sleeping where she left him on the sectional, then half sits, half stands against one of her kitchen stools as she twists to see if she can tell if she got all the glass bits out. She gently presses a clean hand over the wound and only finds one spot where she thinks there might be more glass and since the wound is as much on the side of her thigh as the back, she’s pretty sure she can manage to pull it out on her own. 

“Tess?” Scott calls out.

Tessa’s been so focused that she hadn’t noticed him stirring and now he’s half propped up on some pillows looking at her with a confused expression. 

“You should be sleeping,” she chides as she straightens and moves into the family room to see how he’s doing. 

“What the hell happened to you? You weren’t in the car,” Scott says, obviously taken aback by the various cuts and bruises. 

Tessa sighs. She’s trying to be patient with his inability to remember the accident but the last few times he’d woken up he seemed more with it than this. She keeps her voice soft as she says, “I wasn’t in the car when you flipped. I was following a few minutes behind.”

“Yeah. I know. How the hell did you get all of that,” he gestures vaguely across her body before letting his wide eyes linger on the wound on her thigh, “If you weren’t in the car?”

“Oh, love,” Tessa breathes out. At least he remembers some stuff. “The car was on fire when I got to you. I couldn’t be too picky while trying to get you out.”

“Yeah. Charlie showed me the pictures. Why didn’t you wait for the firemen?”

“I could tell that if I waited...” she shrugs because what else was there to say. “Anyway. I got you out. A few bumps and bruises are more than worth it.”

Scott nods in acceptance. He doesn’t love the fact that she put herself in danger to save him, thinking about what could have happened to her if the fire had spread faster makes him sick to his stomach, which is why he won’t make it any harder for her than it already is. If their positions were reversed, he wouldn’t have left either. Then his eyes focus and see how red and swollen her thigh is and all his calm disappears. 

“Fuck, T. That is not okay. You need to go back to the emergency room right now,” he says as he tries to sit up. Damn that hurts. 

Tessa gives him an incredulous look as she leans forward to put a hand to his shoulder encouraging him to lie back down. “It’s not that bad, Scott. I think all the glass is gone and the bleeding has stopped,” she tells him. And then looks down at her thigh. “The bleeding has mostly stopped.”

Tessa stands and heads back in the kitchen so she doesn’t end up bleeding all over her rug. When she turns back around, Scott has his phone to his ear and she’s a little worried he’s already called 911. For road rash. 

“Scott, hang up the phone. I don’t need an ambulance,” she chides, rushing back to the living room with a slightly damp hand towel pressed against her thigh. 

“I’m not calling an ambulance,” he says with a furrowed brow, as if that’s the most ridiculous thing he’s ever heard. 

That’s something, at least. 

“Who are you calling?”

“Kate.”

“Why are you calling my mother? She just left an hour ago,” Tessa asks. 

“Because that wound looks really fucking bad to me, but I’m concussed, and you are sleep deprived and have a weird relationship to pain, so I’m not sure either of us are capable of making a sound decision at the moment,” he says, and then lays back against the pillows, his brows furrowed as he keeps his eyes glued to her face. 

She’s about to continue the conversation when her mother apparently answers her phone because Scott greets her with, “Kate!”

Tessa knows it’s too late to stop whatever he has planned so she sighs and gives in. She probably should have someone else check her thigh and her mom is as good an option as any. Her poor mother, though. It’s not as if she got much more sleep than they did last night. As Scott explains the situation to her mom, Tessa gives up on trying to look at her leg too closely and starts some hot water going in the kettle. She doesn’t even really want tea right now, but it’s something to do with her hands when all she really wants to do is curl up on the side of the couch that Scott isn’t currently occupying and sleep for a week. 

So she turns the kettle back off and limps her way over to the couch. The way Scott is situated on the sectional, she can actually lay down on the side that’s not currently oozing blood and serum and maybe catch a bit of a nap while she waits for her mom to come back over. Scott hangs up as Tessa is putting a towel down where her legs will be just in case the bleeding gets worse and she can’t help but drop a kiss on his forehead as she sinks down onto the couch perpendicular to him, their heads both resting on the corner cushion. 

“Thank you for calling her,” she murmurs. 

Scott makes a little noise in acknowledgement and even with that small sound Tessa can hear how exhausted he is. 

“Go back to sleep, love. The rest will help,” she encourages him, reaching up to run her hand through his hair but stopping when she realizes from her angle she can’t see to avoid his lacerations. So instead she cups her hand around his, squeezes lightly, and then closes her eyes and gets a nap in before Kate arrives. 

She must doze off pretty quickly since the next thing she knows, she hears her mom sitting on the coffee table and the crackle of packaging. Other than that, the first thing she notices is that she’s freezing, which makes sense since all she’s wearing is a sweatshirt and underwear and hadn’t bothered to figure out how to get under covers with the wound on her leg. 

“Sorry you had to come back, Mom,” she croaks out without opening her eyes. 

“Of course I came back, honey,” Kate reassures her with a gentle voice as she puts a hand on Tessa’s calf. “Let’s get this taken care of so you can go back to sleep.”

Kate probes gently at the wound and finds a couple of tiny slivers that Tessa had missed before calling it done and quickly dressing and bandaging the wound. Tessa can remember her mom doing things like this for her and her siblings all her life and is amazed all over again at how Kate just seems to know so many different things. She can’t really imagine being as well rounded as her mom has always been. 

“Tessa,” her mom says, startling her out of her thoughts. She must have fallen asleep again. She feels the warmth of her sherpa blanket settling over her body, followed by another blanket on top. She shivers against the change in temperature but is grateful for it. “Do you need anything else before I go? Or I could sleep in one of your guest rooms if you think it will be better?”

Tessa opens her heavy eyes and sees the concern on her mother’s face. Tessa cranes her neck up a bit too look at Scott and thinks that maybe she should take her mom up on the offer. She’s feeling much more heavy and weary than she expected. 

“I’m gonna stay,” Kate tells her before she answers. 

“Alma and Joe are going to come by tonight, so maybe just till then?” Tessa agrees. “I’m just so sleepy and I’m a little worried he’ll wake up and I won’t and...” Tessa trails off. 

“It’s a plan,” Kate agrees. “I’ll be in the other living room if you need me, okay?” 

“No, go up to one of the rooms. We’ll have our phones if we need you,” Tessa replies as her eyes drift closed again. 

“Get some sleep,” Kate says and the Tessa feels her dry lips against her cheek and peeks an eye open long enough to see Kate kiss Scott’s forehead. She falls back asleep before she can tell where her mom ends up sleeping. 

***

She startles awake to the sound of movement near her. She hisses when she sits up quick, her blanket sliding down and all of her various scrapes and bruises making themselves known. 

Joe and Charlie are helping Scott up and she quickly realizes that he must need to pee or something. 

“Hey, I can...” Tessa starts, but trails off when she feels Alma’s hand on her shoulder. 

“They’ve got him, Tess,” Alma tells her gently. 

“I’m good, T. Just have to pee and getting off the couch was proving iffy,” he gives her a face and sure enough, once he’s standing he seems steady and Charlie lets him walk on his own to the downstairs bathroom, though he shadows him fairly closely. He’s limping, but ambulatory, so Tessa takes it as a win and then sits back into the couch cushions. 

“Did my mom go home?” she asks. 

“About half an hour ago,” Alma answers. 

“How long has Scott been awake?” He’d looked more alert than she expected. 

“About the same length of time. He woke up when we got here,” Alma says with a fond smile. 

“I can’t believe I slept so hard,” Tessa admits, a little horrified. 

“I’m glad you did,” Alma says, “You had a rough night.”

Tessa can see the tears in Alma’s eyes and she has to look away to keep from crying. “Yeah,” she replies as she catalogues the events of the last twenty-four hours. 

“I don’t think I thanked you yesterday,” Alma tells her, voice now laden with obvious emotion. 

“Oh, no. Alma...” she replies. She’s not entirely sure what she’s refusing but, really, this woman who has given her so much does not need to be thanking her. 

“You saved my son, sweet girl,” Alma says. “Lord knows you’ve been doing that your whole life, but you got him out of that car just in time. I get to thank you for that.”

Tess can feel the tears welling up and this time can’t quite fight them off. “I was so scared,” she answers, a sob clawing its way out of her throat. She clasps her hands over her mouth in an attempt to rein in the emotions that are crashing over her and she mostly succeeds. Alma joins her on the couch and pulls her into a gentle hug. 

Somehow that’s what helps her get it together. Tess swallows down the fear and horror she had been feeling in her bones and lays her head on Alma’s shoulder, allowing herself the little bit of comfort, if not the catharsis that a good sob session might bring. She can do that later, once Scott is healed and everything is truly fine. 

“I should have been awake this afternoon,” Tessa tells her sheepishly. She had planned on staying awake and making sure Scott was okay, making sure he got his pain meds, and could get to the bathroom, and hopefully get him to eat something; but she was just so, so tired. 

“Your mother is perfectly capable of taking care of two sleeping adults,” Alma tells her a hint of admonishment. “Cause that’s what you both did the entire day. You slept right through.”

Before Tessa can respond, Joe comes up behind her and kisses the top of her head and pats her twice on the shoulder. When she looks up and back toward him, she can see the concern and gratitude in his eyes and she lays her head against Alma’s shoulder again. These two are as dear to her as almost anyone on the planet. Hell, these days she feels more loved by Joe than she does her own father. She has always loved them but there have been times when she forced herself to detach from them a bit. When she felt like the time was coming where she maybe wouldn’t have them in her life so intimately and where she maybe tried to protect herself from what she thought was coming. But even during those times, including the year after Sochi, they never wavered in their care or affection for her. 

She’s startled out of yet another musing by Scott coming back in through the kitchen, Charlie trailing behind. He looks a little better. More alert, walking a little less stiffly. She sighs heavily when he sits, gingerly, next to her.

“How’re you feeling,” she asks as she presses her face against his neck, breathing him in. He could use a shower, but she doesn’t care. He’s here and he’s breathing and relatively uninjured and she just needs to take a second with him to reconnect. 

“I’m okay,” he replies, voice just as low. He finds her hand and threads their fingers together again, his thumb playing with her rings in a comforting, normal gesture. “I mean, I feel like I was in a car crash last night,” he tells her with a wink.

She inhales shakily and he squeezes her hand in acknowledgment that his humor isn’t so welcome just yet. 

“Really, T. I’m doing pretty great, all things considered,” Scott tells her as he pulls back so he can make eye contact. His face is a bit of a mess, both eyes bruised and the two cuts on his forehead and one on his cheek look a little angry as they start the healing process. But he’s here with her. He’s breathing and able to move and she’s extremely grateful for this. She kisses him then, gentle but long. When they part, they don’t pull away fully and she’s comforted by the feel of his breath against her mouth. 

His family leave them in their bubble for a little bit, years of watching them on the ice allowing them to completely ignore the intimacy in front of them, but once they’ve had a few moments taking each other in, Alma asks if they want to eat on the couches or at the table. 

The opt for the table since it’s soup and neither of them feel like dealing with burns on top of their other injuries. 

Tess starts to climb out of her blanket cocoon and realizes that she doesn’t actually have any pants on, and while Scott’s family have obviously seen her in some pretty dang revealing costumes over the years, it’s still cold and she would like to be wearing something warmer. While the rest of the family sets up the food, and Scott, in the dining room, Tessa heads up to their room to pull on some loose sweatpants and a full sweatshirt that she knows will be comfortable enough to sleep in once they’re done eating. 

The food is warm and delicious, but Scott tires out quickly and Tessa is still exhausted, so before long they’re back on the couch and Alma and Joe head upstairs to make use of one of the spare rooms (which Kate had opted to skip after all). Charlie leaves so he can get home in time to see his family before his oldest goes to bed. Scott and Tessa settle back into the same positions as before, this time with a few added blankets since the room can be a bit drafty. 

Tessa is about to fall asleep when she hears Scott say, “I don’t know why you decided to come to the party after all, and I’m not even sure why you didn’t want to go in the first place, but I’m glad you made both decisions.”

Tessa swallows and does her best to work through her guilt over not going with him in the first place. “Me, too.”

“We’ll talk more about it later?” Scott probes, and Tessa can tell that despite the scenario working out for the best he is still perplexed about her decisions last night. 

“We can do that, yeah,” Tessa agrees. “I love you,” she adds. 

“I love you, too, Tess. So much,” he replies. 

And then slowly, with just their hands touching, their breath syncs up and they fall asleep. 

***

Tessa wakes feeling quite a bit better. Her minor wounds still smart but now that she’s rested she’s able to put it to the back of her mind. Alma and Joe have to get back home so while Joe heads out to clear the car of snow and warm it up, Alma pulls Tessa into another huge hug. 

“Call us if you need us. Please,” Alma tells her as they stand in the entryway. 

“I will,” Tessa responds, and she mostly means it. If they truly need the help they’ll ask for it. But she thinks they’re on the mend and that after sleeping through the night, Tessa, at least, is doing pretty great. She can take care of Scott now, no problem. 

“Also, Jeff and Dave might call and see if they and their wives can come over and bring over some food,” Alma says, voice neutral and bright. 

Tessa starts shaking her head immediately. Jeff and Dave are best friends and live next door to each other. They and their wives, Julie and Nan, were the ones throwing the New Years Day party they missed. The guys have been two of Scott’s closest friends since Tess has known him. But they don’t need to bring food. That’s too much. “Oh no! That’s fine. I can take care of him. We’ve got some easy food and my mom brought all that soup from her party yesterday. Tell them we’ll be fine!”

“Tessa,” Alma cuts her off short and gives her a firm, but kind, look before continuing. “They need to see him.” Alma places a comforting hand on Tessa’s arm and her eyes go soft and a little sad. “They were very worried when Scott didn’t show up last night. They all wanted to leave the party and descend on the hospital yesterday, but I was able to hold them off for a bit so they didn’t overwhelm you two. But they need to see him and they want to help. Let them.” 

_And if I hadn’t been at the hospital last night?_ Tessa wonders, reading between the lines. 

“Of course!” is what she says. And she truly means it. Of course his friends can come see him. “I just don’t want them to feel like they need to take care of us,” she adds. 

“They want to. And bringing food is how we show we care, Tess,” Alma adds with a wink. 

Tessa lets her shoulders relax and nods. “I’ll call them once we’re done getting cleaned up,” she assures Alma. 

After Alma and Joe leave, Tess and Scott find their way into the downstairs bathroom so Scott can get something of a shower. Only one wound on his arm is bad enough that it needs to be covered by plastic but Tessa does her best to help him get clean, including his hair - thank God he got a haircut at the beginning of December. She quickly takes a shower of her own, skipping washing her hair since she’d done that the day before, and then they dry off together and slowly get dressed after redressing the wounds that need it. The whole process takes longer than Tessa intended and she gasps a little when she sees that it’s already noon by the time they’re downstairs and settled again. 

“Your mom said that Jeff and Julie and Dave and Nan wanted to come see you,” she starts. 

“Oh, Tess. It’s okay, I can go to them once I’m a little better. No worries,” he tells her as he picks up the remote to turn on the TV. 

“You don’t want them to come?” she asks. 

“I mean, I wouldn’t mind seeing them, but it can wait,” he replies, not really looking at her as he starts to flip through the cable guide. 

“Scott,” she asks sharply enough so he’ll look at her. Once she has his eye contact she asks, “Do you want them to come over? I think they’re going to bring some food.”

Scott takes a moment and searches her face and Tessa does her best to be as open as she can be. To show him that if he thinks she’ll have a problem with his friends coming over, that he doesn’t need to worry. “I would want to go see them if the roles were reversed,” is what he says. 

Tessa nods and says, “I have both Nan and Julie’s numbers so I’ll text them?” 

“Okay,” Scott answers. He’s still looking at her like he’s perplexed and she’s reminded of the look he gave her before he left to go to the party the night before last. Then he leans forward slightly and kisses her, long and deep and probably a little less gently than he should, before pulling back, giving her one more peck against her lips and then sitting back with a groan and turning on the TV. 

***  
Tess can feel Scott’s anxiety flooding off him as the afternoon wears on. His nerves set her a little on edge and her own nerves kick in as they wait for Scott’s friends to arrive. Julie had let her know they were bringing dinner and to not worry about tidying up but Tessa is still Tessa and as sore and drained as she is from the last few days, she will feel better if everything is in its place. It helps that, even with their injuries, they haven’t made much of a mess so the place is spotless well before it’s time for them to get there and without anything to do, she can’t seem to tamp down the nervous energy that’s bubbling up in her as she rearranges the coffee table books yet again.

“T,” Scott says with a gentle touch to her back. She immediately stills and looks down into the glass. “You seem more anxious about this than you did about most of our competitions. They’re just people. No one’s gonna bite you or start throwing around your stuff. There’s no need to be so jumpy.”

Tess whips her head around to look at him with a frown. His tone started off consoling but by the last few sentences he sounded resigned and cranky. 

“Wait. I’m anxious?” she asks incredulously. She is, but she was doing okay until he got all fidgety and kept looking at the door with concern. “And why would I think they’d throw around--” She cuts herself off and shakes her head, taking in a grounding breath before continuing, “I’m not worried they’re going to break something, Scott. I’m worried they’ll...” she trails off unsure how exactly to word what her concerns are. Hate her? They obviously don’t. Think she can’t take care of their friend? Resent her for taking him away from them time and time again? There are so many conflicting feelings it’s hard to narrow it down to what exactly unsettles her. 

Scott cocks his head and looks at her in curiosity, all patience now, but before she can answer, the doorbell rings and Tessa stands immediately and heads to the door. 

The two couples are laden down with bags of food and two crockpots and Tessa is glad that she has both a fridge and a freezer that have a lot more space than she’s ever actually needed. 

“Wow!” she says looking at it all, “Thank you so much. Come in, come in!” She realizes that she sounds exactly like her mother did when Tessa was growing up and Kate would greet new neighbors or friends at their door. She takes one of the crockpots and a bag and shows them where they can put their shoes and coats and they exchange pleasantries as they make their way into the kitchen. 

As soon as the bags are set down on the counter, Jeff pulls Tessa into a giant bear hug and kisses her on the side of the head. “Charlie told us what a rock star you were,” he tells her as he steps back and Dave takes his place. “Thanks a million for saving his ass,” Jeff concludes and she’s a little taken aback at the obvious tears in his eyes. 

Dave doesn’t say much, just gives her an extra squeeze in acknowledgement.

“I...It was nothing,” Tessa says even though it’s not true and she knows it. But she’s a little off balance by their exuberant affection for her and isn’t sure what exactly to say. They both seem to sense her discomfort and look around for a second before they spot Scott on the couch. 

“Well don’t you just look like shit,” Dave says as both guys head into the living room. His words are harsh and joking but his tone is a little heartbreaking. The were really worried, Tessa realizes. Scott is sitting up a little and both men lean down to hug him. 

Jeff even gives him a smacking kiss on his forehead and Tessa can just barely hear him say, “I’m glad you’re not dead, man. So glad,” even though his voice is low and rumbly and she’s still standing in the kitchen surrounded by bags of food and a little overwhelmed. Both guys sink onto the couch on either side of Scott, comfortable as can be, but not in a rude way. They just seem very focused on their friend and glad to be in his presence again. And some of the tension has eased in Scott’s brow as well, which makes Tessa happy. 

“They really love him,” Tessa whispers, forgetting that there are two other people in the room with her. 

“They’d follow him to hell and back,” Nan agrees. “Though the hardest thing they’ve done where he’s involved is not follow him.”

Tessa isn’t exactly sure how to respond to that so she lets it go and looks around at her counters wondering what to tackle first. “You’ll all stay and eat with us, right?” is what she ends up saying.

Julie looks carefully at Tessa, seemingly assessing her sincerity, and then over to where the guys are hanging out on the couch, talking quietly and says, “If that would be alright with you, I think it’d be good for them.”

“Of course!” Tessa agrees. “Look at all this food. We won’t have to cook for a week, even with you eating with us tonight!” She peers into one of the bags, which is large and rectangular and insulated. There are at least four decent sized trays of food that all seem to be frozen. 

“A few of us made some dishes that are simple heat and serve. We checked with Cara to see if there were any food restrictions and she said that as far as she knew you two are taking a break from most restrictions, but we made sure the sauces aren’t too heavy and there’s a decent amount of protein and veg just in case...” Julie, who Tessa remembers might be a nutritionist or personal trainer of some sort, tells her with a worried shrug. 

“Oh. That’s so kind of you! We would have been fine with anything, but we do tend to default to a stricter diet when we’re in recovery mode, so that works out. All of this looks amazing. You’re so thoughtful.” 

The three women keep working at pulling stuff out of the bags and Tessa realizes she should have offered something to drink. “Drinks!” she blurts out. The two women smile kindly at her and she smiles back. “What would you like to drink?” she asks in a less frantic voice. Tessa has hosted dozens of parties at her house over the past six years. She hasn’t been this frazzled about it since just after the first set of renovations were done and she hosted her first adult dinner party.

She turns quickly to grab some glasses out of her cupboard and starts reaching up to pull the door open and hisses and curls back in as the scrape that covers a good section of her flank pulls and stings. 

Nan slides in front of her and opens the cabinet she was reaching for, and pulls down four glasses, not commenting on Tessa’s discomfort but also giving her a look that says, “you are not lifting another finger tonight, girl.”

Before she can say anything Julie says, “This place is just as gorgeous as it was in that magazine spread. So light and cheerful!” She sounds genuine and Tessa is reminded again that Scott is friends with really good people. 

“Thank you! It’s been such a haven over the last few years.” She can feel herself giving a press-worthy answer. She doesn’t want that anymore. Tessa wants to be friends with these women, so she shifts her posture, letting her shoulders drop and her features soften before continuing. “It’s honestly a little weird to be back here and settled for so long, but I do still love it,” she concludes. “I wanted it to be a place to land, where I could know I was home, even though I’ve spent more time away than here since I bought it, but I think it’s finally really become that home I was hoping it would be.” She’ll need to give them a tour later but right now she’s distracted by the drinks and that fact that she’s currently being blocked from the fridge to get out the beer and waters and juice that she was going to offer. Julie just smiles at her and pulls out one of the stools at her island and points to it so Tess will sit on it. 

And she complies. She’s tired and she finds she likes these women and decides that she’s going to treat this the same as she would if it was any of her friends. Granted she normally doesn’t leave people to fend for themselves until the second drink but they seem eager to help and for her to relax so she decides to let go and do that. 

Tessa points to the fridge and says, “Feel free to drink anything in there. There’s some beer and water and a mostly full bottle of wine from New Year’s Eve. Help yourself!”

The other women make quick work of the drinks and putting other items away under Tessa’s direction. Then they pull out bowls and spoons for the stew they brought over. “Should we eat in the dining room, then?” Nan asks. 

“Let me ask Scott if he feels like moving,” Tess answers. She honestly doesn’t care too much since they’re both considerably more steady than they’d been the night before and she isn’t worried about spilling. She figures that other than Scott, they can probably sit around the coffee table fairly easily. 

“What’s that, Virtch?” Scott asks when he hears her say his name. 

“Do you feel like moving to the dining room or do you want to stay put?” she asks as she slides off the stool and moves to stand behind where he’s seated on the couch. Scott looks up at her and she can see a little tension in his forehead and already knows he’s going to want to stay put. “Stay put, yeah?” 

“If you don’t mind,” he answers. Tessa just leans over and kisses him right on the corner of his mouth. She lingers for a second, breathing him in and he lifts a hand up and cups the back of her head. “You good?” he whispers against her lips. 

“I am,” she answers honestly. 

He kisses her once more and then she pulls back and goes to prep two bowls of the stew, one with less liquid than the other. 

She and Scott sit on the couch with the table pulled back toward their knees, but the other four sit on the floor, leaning against the couches. The conversation flows easily for the next hour as they eat, with lots of laughter and the guys ragging on each other every chance they get. Tessa doesn’t say much but she also doesn’t feel excluded or uncomfortable. She’s honestly enjoying herself. 

Scott starts to flag once the soup is gone and Tessa gets up to get his medication ready and is starting to worry about how to wind everything down when Dave gets up and says, “We’ve got to get back to the kids. Ma has an early appointment tomorrow and needs to get home.” 

Everyone exchanges hugs and farewells and Tessa’s eyes tear up a little when she sees Jeff go in for one more hug with Scott. She loves their easy affection and realizes that maybe it’s not just Scott’s exposure to figure skating that made him so easy with physical affection, but that some of it was who he grew up with. 

They exchange another round of goodbyes and hugs at the door and as they leave Tessa says, “We should do this again soon.”

“That would be great,” Nan replies. “Maybe Scott will stop hiding you away when we invite you two over.” She says it with a mock glare in the direction of the family room where Scott’s resting, but Tessa freezes for a second when she realizes that it’s Scott that has been keeping her excluded, not his friends. “We didn’t even get to experience one of your kitchen dance parties.” She winks to show she’s joking, but Tessa’s pretty sure she’d be up for it and that she’d be fun to dance with, too. 

“For sure. Once Scott has healed up we’ll figure out a time. Until then it’ll have to be a little more low key. We shouldn’t wait that long,” Tessa answers. 

***  
They’ve left the place pretty tidy, so Tessa only spends a few more minutes putting some odds and ends away, making sure the house is locked up and the lights are off before circling back to the family room where Scott is dozing on the couch again. He wakes when she settles the blanket up around his shoulders and he smiles gently at her. 

“Hey,” he says, scooting back into the cushion. He manages to not wince but she hisses for him just imagining how that inching movement must feel. 

“Hey,” she replies. She lays out on the edge of the cushions facing him. She’s not going to sleep this way or she’s liable to fall off the edge but for now she’s glad to be tucked up next to him, even if she can’t put any weight on him. She pulls the blanket back over them and enjoys the warmth that’s radiating off his body. 

"That went better than I thought it would," Scott admits with a sheepish smile.

Tessa looks up at his face and sighs. “Were you really that worried it wouldn’t?”

He begins to shrug and the grimace he tries to hide makes it clear his pain meds have mostly worn off. “I was worried for you.” 

“Why?”

Scott stretches out a hand to thread his fingers into her hair, “I just know it isn’t the first group of people you would choose to hang out with.” At this statement, Tessa tenses and a frown begins to appear on her face, “What is that supposed to mean?”

Realizing how what he said must sound to her, Scott attempts to clarify himself, “I just mean, I know you like to hang out with the girls and these guys aren’t exactly champagne bar types.” Instead of making her understand, this just causes Tessa to pull back and sit up so she can face him directly. 

“That’s bullshit.” 

The look of surprise on his face almost makes her regret having this conversation with him now when he’s injured, but she needs him to understand. When he starts to reply she cuts him off with a raised hand, “No.” Taking a cleansing breath she resets and reaches out to take his hand, because as frustrated as she is, she knows this is a two-sided hurt and they have to work through it together instead of tiptoeing around it like they have for the last 15 years. 

She can see how the guarded look in his eyes lessens once she takes his hand and decides to try, “I think we need to talk about your friends. More specifically, where I fit in that group because right now, I don’t think I have a place.” 

Scott’s sharp inhale has nothing to do with his cracked ribs, “How can you say that, Tess? They’ve always tried to include you.”

A grim smile graces her lips before she replies, “And yet it sounds like you’ve found ways to decline on my behalf.” 

“Only when I know it’s something you wouldn’t be interested in!” He flicks his free hand in agitation and this causes her gaze to harden.

“You don’t get to decide that for me. We make decisions together, we always have, except when it comes to our friends. And now we have to make it work.” 

“I’m trying! You’re the one that always says you don’t want to come when I do ask, or is uncomfortable the whole time even though I try and make you as comfortable as possible. I don’t know what you want-”

“I want you to stop being embarrassed by me when you’re with them!”

The silence is heavy and Scott can see the look of surprise on her face that tells him even Tessa didn’t realize this was where the conversation was going. She quickly looks away from him and from Scott’s vantage point, he can see she’s blinking rapidly to keep the tears at bay.

He squeezes her hand and it’s only then that she realizes they’re still clasped. 

"You've never been comfortable when I'm around them. Ever. I’ve always wondered, what exactly did I do to make you feel that?" She does her best to keep her voice neutral, though her words are likely more loaded than they should be. 

"I've never been comfortable? Tess, you've never been comfortable around them," Scott says like it’s an indubitable fact. 

"I've known them since I was eight years old, why wouldn't I have been comfortable?" Tess asks, completely baffled by his revisionist history. 

"You just..." he starts but when it’s obvious he has nothing to add, Tess takes over again. 

“I think I’ve been trying to find a way to win in this situation, and I can’t. When you invite me to hang out with them and I come, you are uncomfortable.” Scott starts to say something but she tugs gently on his hand, “Let me say this, please?” 

He nods to her so she starts again, “Scott, I was an awkward thirteen-year-old girl the first time one of them asked me to hang out with you all after a Labour Day party. You said no so fast you surprised even them. It was obvious just the thought horrified you," she says. She has to swallow down the old hurt that starts to swell up in her throat. 

He looks at her, eyes a little glassy and jaw tight but he stays silent so she continues. "I still don't know what I did that made you think I'd embarrass you or hold you back, but I get it. You didn't want me hanging out with you all the time. It sucked and it hurt, but I can look back now and I get it." She touches his face and he closes his eyes as she rubs her thumb lightly over a bruise on the apple of his cheek. "What I don't get, is why you did it again when I was 17, and again when I was 22. And, yeah, by that time I didn't really care or try to push it because you were pretty much always in full on asshole mode off the ice and I didn’t actually want to hang out with you in that mood,” she pauses to swallow and formulate her next words but he cuts her off. 

"That's exactly what--" he starts, but she cuts him off in turn. 

"No. I understand that we were all young and stupid and that everyone's cool and all grown up now. What I don't understand is why you'd think I'd be anything other than kind and welcoming to your best friends _now_. Why you think I’d be worried about them being in my house. Why you wouldn’t tell me that they invited us, both of us, to things that you decided, on your own, I wouldn’t be going to.” 

“I don’t do...It’s...” Scott starts and stops a couple of times before resting his head on his pillow and Tessa sighs and cups his face again. 

“I know you love me. I know you’re proud of me. And I know you trust me with almost anything, but, I don’t feel like you trust me with them. I understand on the outside my interests are different than theirs, but that’s a little thin since I thought you and I had most of the same interests.” 

He smiles softly when she says this but his brow furrows in confusion as she continues, “I would never do anything to make the people who matter most to you feel small or unimportant or like I don’t value them, so when I spend the entire time at a party with you hovering in fear that I will somehow not know how to behave with people I’ve known almost as long as I’ve known you, in a town I spent half my youth loving and making memories in, it hurts.” 

“I didn’t intend...” he trails off again and Tess waits for him to complete the thought. After a beat he closes his eyes and says, “You’re right.” He sounds so defeated. 

Tessa can’t help but take his hand in hers and squeeze, encouraging him to finish. “What am I right about, exactly?”

Scott looks up at her again and smiles this sad little smile that doesn’t fit right on his face. “When we were younger I didn’t always want you tagging along. At first, yeah, it was because you were a kid and I thought we weren’t and I didn’t want to have to watch out for you for the night. Which makes me an asshole, I know,” he says. 

“It didn’t make you an asshole, Scott. It made you a fifteen-year-old,” Tessa counters. 

“Yes. So, asshole,” he chuffs out. 

Tessa shrugs in response, because he’s not completely wrong. He was less of an asshole than most teenage boys she knew, but he was very far from perfect. “Right. So I guess I get why you would have done it then. It hurt, kinda a lot, really, but I get it.”

“So why did I keep doing it?” he asks, more confirming her unspoken question than asking it himself. 

Tessa nods curious to see what his answer is. 

“At first, it’s like I said. I kept you separate to protect you, at least a little bit, but mostly to protect my time with them. And then as we got older and you became even more poised, and held together and elegant...” he pauses, searching for the right words for what he’s trying to convey. 

“You thought I was a snob,” she fills in. 

“No!” he replies a little too quickly. 

“You _know_ me better than that, Scott!” she bites out in frustration, trying to pull her hand away. 

“That was your word, not mine, T,” he says with a hand on her back. “I never once called you a snob or even thought it.” 

He’s sincere. She can feel it in every bit of her that he’s being completely sincere. 

“Did they think I was a snob?” she asks. 

Scott tugs on her hand, silently asking her to look at him. When she does she can see the contemplative look is back in his eyes. He really hasn’t ever thought this through, has he? 

“I think they got that impression at some point, yeah. And I think maybe I didn’t do much to change their minds about it,” he admits. His forehead is pinched again and she can tell he’s in pain and while the things she’s learning today make her sad, she doesn’t want him to hurt right now, too. 

“I should get you your meds so you can sleep. We can finish this later,” she tells him with what she hopes is an apologetic look rather than the defeated one she feels. 

“No, I’m awake and if we wait till tomorrow you’ll put it in a box somewhere in your head and not think about it again, but it will still be there and I don’t want that for you,” Scott tells her. He has so much insight into her now it’s unnerving sometimes. 

“Okay,” she agrees and then cuts to the chase, “So for the last, what? Eight, ten years? They’ve just thought I didn’t think they were good enough?” she asks her rib cage squeezing her lungs at how gross that feels. 

“I think they figured out eventually that it was my hang up, but yeah. Probably for most of that time they thought you were too good for them and that you knew it.”

Tessa takes a breath and thinks it through. 

“And now?” she asks, figuring the past is gone and she needs to know what to do to fix this now. 

“Now, like you said, we’re all full-fledge adults, even us, and I think they want to get to know you better since we’re together-together now,” he answers. 

“Then why haven’t we had them over? Or spent more time with them? Why did you ever tell them that I couldn’t come when I could, much less more than once?” They’ve had time the last few months. They had their second tour a little earlier than the first one so there would be less chance of weather-related cancellations. They finished early in November so they were mostly home for November and December. During that time Scott had only gone to see his local friends when Tessa was out of town for a day here and there for a sponsorship or women’s charity event. 

She _had_ gone to a holiday party that his buddies and their families had thrown in early December and had an okay time but Scott was hyper-focused on making sure she was settled and comfortable in a way he hadn’t felt the need to do in other company in half a decade. As a result, he didn’t actually seem to spend any time with his buds and he was twitchy and nervous the whole time, which was a big part of why she made her original decision to skip the New Year’s Day bash. 

She has to swallow down some bile at the thought of what might have happened if that day had gone a little differently. 

“I think, or rather, I know...I’ve always had a hard time picturing you with us. Just shooting the shit, watching hockey, drinking beer, playing with the kids,” he says. 

“Again, that’s such bullshit,” she bites out. “I do all those things with _both_ of our families. Not just yours, mine too. I had no idea you still had me in such a small box,” she pauses to think for a second. “Actually, I don’t think I ever had any clue you had me in this box at all. You go on about how I have grace and poise on the ice, but am funny and down to earth and even-keeled, but now I’m learning that you actually think I’m some princess who needs to be kept separate? What the hell?”

“Tessa,” he says with a low, serious voice. 

She looks down at him and huffs out a cleansing sigh. “Yeah?”

“None of this is how I actually see you. You know that. I know you. I do. You are my favorite person in the world. I love you and I _know_ you. This is about a very specific context that I haven’t worked through because until five months ago, I didn’t think there’d be a reason to need to work through it,” he tells her. Neither of them saw a romantic relationship coming, which, looking back was a little nuts, so while they were not a couple in their private lives, they had worked hard to keep their friends separate. She just didn’t realize that he had continued the pattern even after his friends knew about their new status.

“You can’t do that again, Scott. They’re your best friends. You love them so much and damned if they don’t love you right back. We’re going to be in each other’s lives for years to come, and I can’t have them them thinking that I don’t like them or don’t want to be around them. Or worse, thinking that I think I’m too good for them,” she says with a hitch in her voice. Damn she’s tired. “I don’t want to have to consider skipping any more parties with all of you in fear that you’ll be so focused on coddling me and protecting me that you can’t enjoy your time with your friends. With our friends,” she amends at the end. 

“I’ll work on it,” he tells her, gifting her knuckles with a soft kiss. 

“Please.”

“Maybe starting tomorrow?” he asks with a small laugh as he closes his eyes in obvious exhaustion. 

“Of course,” she answers, brushing his hair off his brow in affection. “Let me get your meds.” 

She goes to stand so she can get his pills and some water but Scott tugs on her hand before she’s fully upright. 

“One more thing,” he says. Tess looks at him in anticipation but doesn’t say anything in response. “Those guys are my very good friends and I believe we’d all go to war for each other, no questions asked.” He pauses to make sure she’s really looking at him before continuing, “But you are my best friend. You have been for a long time. Don’t doubt that, love.”

This time Tessa pulls his hand up to her lips and presses two hard kisses to his bruised knuckles. She sniffs the tears away before bending down to kiss him full on the mouth. It’s a dry, but lingering kiss that expresses more love and appreciation than it has any right to. 

“I love you,” she murmurs against his lips before pulling back a bit. “And I’m glad you’re alive.”

“I love you more than you’ll ever understand, T. I didn’t realize what I was doing, but it stops now. I never ever want you to feel like you aren’t a part of my life. My whole life.”

Tessa shakes her head in response, giving him a fond smile in the dim light and then goes to get the medication to help him get the rest he needs to heal up. 

He’s out before the meds have a chance to kick in and she’s almost as tired as he is, so she takes her place on her end of the couch, their heads touching, and she falls asleep hoping to be able to fall asleep in his arms again soon. 

**Author's Note:**

> You can find C in the ether or hiding behind trees. You can find me @peacefulboo on tumblr, but also at @boo-writes-stuff on tumblr where there's a better chance I'll actually answer asks that are about RPF. Also I'm on twitter but..at what cost?


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